Whereas the majority of solicitors have a legal team dedicated to personal injury claims and services, far fewer firms specialise in specific areas.

Unless you have regular dealings with a firm of solicitors or a recommendation from a reliable source, choosing the right solicitor is a very important part of the decision-making process when making any personal claim.

A good solicitors website should offer free advice on a variety of questions that may well be central to your considering starting a claim procedure – who will pay your legal fees, how to choose the right solicitor and how long do you have to decide whether to start a claim.

In times like these it’s fair to say that businesses in all sectors look to branch out and offer other services that they may not have the necessary experience or expertise.  Like I.T companies, solicitors can offer a wide range of services but a company website can sometimes offer a clue as to where their core expertise lies.

I see many I.T company websites that promote themselves as offering I.T support, networking, server management, computer repairs and right at the bottom of the list, lost in comparison with the other services… and website design.  If this doesn’t prove they are I.T experts rather than web designers then their own website and portfolio generally underlines more initial thoughts; and solicitors’ websites can be read in much the same way.

It will either list absolutely every conceivable service a firm of solicitors can offer, in which case you will want to the reassurance that this company is large enough to have an experienced department in every field or you want the reassurance that the solicitors you choose are suited to requirements.  In the case of medical negligence, it is vital that the solicitors you choose to represent you, is a company that specialise in this niche field.

Medical negligence claims can be very time-consuming and involved.  It is therefore crucial for you to have full confidence in the experience and expertise of the lawyer or lawyers that are in charge of your claim.

Goodmans Law are a firm of solicitors that specialise in medical negligence and personal injury claims. Their website clearly highlights their areas of expertise and as such should give you peace of mind.

Some accidents and injuries can be avoided by following the correct procedures and applying common sense, but that’s not always the case; and when the accident or injury is caused by a third party then the whole incident can be completely out of your hands.

There are various accident and injury types.  The most common include motoring accidents, accidents at work, accidents and injury caused by lifting, slips, trips and falls, and injury and illness caused by industrial diseases.

In the UK our roads are so busy nowadays that it is commonplace to witness a car accident.  If you are involved in a car accident you may be fortunate enough to escape personal injury and only suffer vehicle damage, but though we don’t always want to consider the worst, accidents are a major cause of death and disability in the UK. The fact that we all go about our daily lives with an ‘it will never happen to me’ attitude allows us to concentrate on living our lives, but we cannot escape the fact that death from accidents is probably more common than we would like to believe.

One person dies every hour from accidents in England alone.  That’s a staggering statistic.  Another is that the NHS spends £1.2 billion each year on the treatment of injuries.  Accidents can happen to us all, but accidents are the greatest threat to life to children and young people.

Many motoring accidents and personal injury can be avoided if the right measures and procedures are followed and thought is given to your own actions and due consideration is placed on the actions others may take.  But accidents and injuries happen to the most health and safety conscious among us; and for that professional accident and injury lawyers such as Johnson Law, who specialise in the field of accident claims and injuries, are qualified to offer individuals the best advice and service.

Being involved in an accident can be a very stressful time, not just for the person involved but also to immediate family and their livelihood.  But rest assured, if you are involved in an accident or befall a personal injury, there is professional help at hand.

Compared to atrocious weather in the same period of 2009, the cold snap in November and December 2010 was not only more severe, but lasted longer and affected more of the country.

Insurance claims against property and vehicles reached a staggering £1.4billion over the most recent winter period compared to the measly £650million paid out for damage caused in 2009.

In fact burst pipes alone accounted for more in pay outs in 2010 than the total claims from the previous winter, with over 100,000 claims totalling £680million.

More than 250,000 vehicles were damaged as a result of the snow and ice on the roads, leading to claims for a further £530million it is claimed.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) who released the figures, suggest that there is no evidence that premiums had increased as a result of the cold weather, but I am sure that will follow during the course of this year.

car insurance

It always strikes me as a bit odd that insurance companies say on the one hand that they do not make any money out of motor insurance in the UK, and yet on the other hand every other television advert is selling motor insurance.

Is it because they are spending all their profits on advertising while chasing the kudos of being the biggest supplier of this product in the UK? Who knows?

It goes without saying that purchasing an insurance product is similar to purchasing anything else in life, invariably you get what you pay for and that is particularly true of motor insurance.

Recent research by the independent financial research company Defaqto shows for instance that only 23% of comprehensive motor policies include a courtesy car as standard, a staggering 49% did not provide one at all and the rest including the courtesy car as an option.

Similarly only 21% of policies provide legal cover for uninsured loss recovery as standard. Again around half of the providers offered this as an option and 28% do not cover this item at all.

So clearly it is not only worth shopping around, but also comparing like for like. Figure what cover you are comfortable with and search for the best quote to cover those needs, but remember if you are involved in an accident and left without a car, the cost of hiring one yourself could easily cost more than having it included in your policy to start with.

Something that you will see if you choose an Aviva car insurance quote, is the ‘Uninsured Driver Promise‘. This is something that I have seen from a few of the top names recently and certainly it is an ‘extra’ that offers peace of mind knowing how many uninsured drivers are on the roads.

In conclusion, it is clear with motor insurance that if you pay a budget price, you get budget cover. If you are happy with that, fine, but remember that if you do have an accident it will most likely cost more than the saving that you have made in your premium.

From TV screens going blank during the game, to volcanic ash disrupting travel, terrorist attacks and freak weather conditions, the risk profession plays a key role when it comes to big tournaments, even though they have provided over £6 billion worth of coverage for the month-long event.

Munich Re estimates the broadcasting rights earned FIFA 2.2 billion Euros for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. If the event is cancelled, FIFA faces substantial claims by companies who have licensed the media coverage.

Swiss Re Group estimate the cancellation of the event is one of the biggest risks insured, and the Olympics and the World Cup are two of the largest events insured for event cancellation coverage. FIFA alone has purchased $650 million in insurance for total cancellation of the World Cup 2010.

Other risks associated with the World Cup are household damage, increased thefts, player injury and even trauma suffered by fans whose teams have underperformed in the games. Surely something that England fans will not have to endure!

This interesting video gives some background to the huge risks and financial costs that must be considered when taking on the responsibility of staging a global event such as the World Cup 2010.

Hastings Direct and sister brands, Renew, Insure and Likewise are investing in state of the art technology that will help them to seek out and reject the customers who are likely to make a fraudulent claims at point of sale.

Fraudulent claims are said to cost the motor insurance industry £1.9 billion each year and cost the innocent motorist an extra £100 per year on their insurance premium.

A pilot scheme that was set up a couple of months ago by the group, revealed that 15% of potential clients had given incorrect driving licence details, such as using old licences to get around speeding convictions and the like.

Chief executive of Hastings Direct,  Edward Fitzmaurice, says:

“We feel strongly about the fact that honest drivers, who have built up their no-claims bonuses, should not be forced to ‘bail out’ those who are intent on trying to defraud the system.”

AA

Motor insurance has risen at it’s fastest pace in 15 years according to a report from the AA, with the rising cost of personal injury claims and insurance fraud having a major effect on the premiums that we pay.

The average premium quoted for comprehensive motor insurance rose by 5.6% in the last quarter up to September 2009 and has increased by 14% overall in the last twelve months.

The scary part is that insurance companies are still selling motor insurance as a loss leader, hoping to encourage motorists to buy other more profitable insurance products. The industry currently pays out £110 for every £100 taken in premiums and AA Director of Insurance Simon Douglas says that at current levels a rise of 20% would be needed to return the industry to profitability.

The compensation culture that has crossed the Atlantic to the UK in recent years is proving to be a massive burden on motorists in particular as anyone involved in an accident these days is urged to seek a pay out for personal injury, with many companies willing to take up the case on a no win no fee basis.

Personal injury claims reached £9.6bn last year while insurance fraud cost the industry £1.9bn.

The bridegroom Andrew Singh  was sentenced to twelve months, along with parents Graham Singh and Niramella Singh. The family had made the claim against a local transport company, when two of the three coaches they had hired to transport guests to the wedding, were involved in separate accidents.

The Singhs’ had claimed for whiplash injuries but were found out when a wedding day video supplied by the Singhs’ to prove they were on the coach, showed them dancing hours after the accident!

The Singhs’ were ordered to pay court costs of £73,000.

While co-ordinated efforts by the police and insurance companies have seen a drop of 11% in incidents of the scam over the last two years, MORE TH>N claim that levels of awareness have not risen during that time.

They claim that two thirds of motorists would not know if they were a victim of a deliberate or staged accident, while almost a third would not know what to do if they found themselves victims of the scam.

For those unaware of the scam, MORE TH>N describe it as when a criminal gang deliberately cause an accident with an innocent motorist, with the intention of making a false or inflated claim. This is often achieved by shunting the victim from behind or braking late and hard to ensure the victim hits the rear of the offending vehicle. Fraudsters will often have disabled brake lights making it more likely to be hit by a following vehicle.

Motorists who suspect that they have been involved in a staged accident should say nothing at the scene and advise their insurance company of their suspicions. Photo’s of the accident scene, vehicle damage and occupants should be taken if possible.

The warning comes from insurer Aviva, as part of its 2009 Simply Safety campaign and aimed at an agricultural industry that is becoming increasingly diversified as farmers look to increase their income source and respond to new consumer demands.

On average, 46 workers in the agricultural industry are killed each year, with many more injured. Of those deaths 24% are caused by farm vehicles, either knocking workers over or vehicles overturning, with around 17% caused by falling from height. Of the 464 deaths during the past ten years, 26 were children under the age of sixteen.

Phil Grace, Aviva’s liability risk manager offers the following advice to agricultural workers:

“Taking the following steps will help to protect your livelihood, your workers and any other individuals who may be affected by work activity. First, identify any hazards, for example what machinery is being used or whether children are present and could be injured. Then assess the risks and introduce the appropriate controls. Make sure employees have the correct instruction and training to use equipment or carry out their job and identify and provide any protective equipment that is required. This could range from wearing the correct protective equipment when using sheep dips to making sure the floor in a farm shop is clean and safe.”